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Family Dinner – Baked Chicken Mozzarella Recipe by Shelly Hill

As a busy mom and wife, I am always looking for easy and time saving chicken recipes, and this one fits all of those ‘mom’ requirements.

What I like about this recipe is the fact that it is made with every day ingredients that you most likely have on hand. To save time, I will make step 1 the day before and then refrigerate it in a container. The next day, I will reheat the step 1 ingredients in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and then proceed with step 2. I do this so that I am not spending an hour in my kitchen on a busy work or school night.

Chicken Mozzarella Recipe

Step 1 Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. of boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

2 eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce

3/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves

Cut chicken breasts in half and remove skin. In a small bowl, beat eggs. Dip meat into eggs and then dip into dried bread crumbs. Heat butter in a large 12″ round frying pan until melted. Place breasts in the frying pan over medium heat and simmer until it has browned on all sides. Stir in the tomato sauce and basil; reduce heat. Cover and cook over low heat until done, about 30-40 minutes.

Step 2 Ingredients:

1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 teaspoon paprika

In a small bowl, combine the Mozzarella cheese with the paprika until blended.

Arrange chicken pieces in an un-greased 9″ square baking dish along with the rest of the ingredients from step 1. Sprinkle the cheese mixture on top. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake in your oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese has melted and is bubbly around the edges.

Shelly enjoys cooking and baking for her friends and family. You can visit Shelly online at her recipe blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for additional family-friendly recipes.

My husband loves cookies but his number 1 favorite cookie is a pumpkin cookie…especially ones that have a deliciously sweet frosting on top. Today I thought I would share my recipe on how to make them with all of our blog readers…especially since the holidays are just around the corner.

Shelly’s Frosted Pumpkin Cookies Recipe

1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 cup margerine or butter
1 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Option: If your family prefers, you can substitute the raisins with chocolate chips.

In a large bowl, cream together the granulated sugar and the margerine using an electric mixer. Stir in the pumpkin puree, optional raisins and the vanilla extract until all wet ingredients are combined.

In a large bowl, combined together the all-purpose flour, baking soda and the baking powder. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingrediets and mix together until everything is well combined.

Drop cookies by the rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until they are done. Remove from oven and let them cool on a wire cooling rack.

Frosting Recipe

1 lb. box of powdered confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup margerine or butter, softened
1/4 cup milk (I use 2% milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium sized bowl, combine the above ingredients together until the mixture resembles frosting. You want to mix it until it is spreadable. Spread the frosting on top of each baked pumpkin cookie.

Store all of your frosted cookies in an air tight cookie canister for storage.

Save Money By Making Your Own Condiment and Sauces

One of the most expensive things that add up quickly on your weekly grocery bill can be all of those prepared condiments and sauces that you buy. However…you can put a big dent into your grocery bill by making and serving your own condiment and sauces to your family.

All of the recipes here in this article are simple to prepare and you can easily find the ingredients at your local grocery store. You will always want to start out with the freshest ingredients that you can find. Your work service should be clean and the containers that you store your condiments and sauces in should be clean and sterilized.

Homemade Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup Bleu Cheese, crumbled

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the low-fat yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, minced garlic and black pepper. Using a wire whisk, mix the ingredients until smooth. Using a spoon, stir in the crumbled Blue Cheese until all ingredients are well combined. This dressing will keep for 3-4 days refrigerated. Recipe makes 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cups.

Homemade Barbeque Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
2 tablespoons minced onions
1 tablespoon brown sugar

In a large saucepan, combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, water and vinegar. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in granulated sugar, salt, black pepper, celery salt, minced onions and brown sugar. Simmer the sauce over low heat for 5 minutes. You can use it immediately on your favorite meats or cool and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Delicious Hot Fudge Chocolate Sauce

10 ounces marshmallow creme
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat marshmallows and evaporated milk in a double boiler until marshmallows melt, stirring constantly. Add the chocolate squares and stir until sauce is smooth. Blend in the salt and vanilla extract. Serve hot fudge sauce over ice cream.

Shelly Hill is a mother and grandmother living in Pennsylvania who enjoys cooking and baking. You can visit Shelly’s online cooking and recipe blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for free menu ideas, cooking tips and free recipes.

During the weekends I enjoy making homemade soft pretzels for my family and below is the recipe that I like to use along with some Pretzel Making Tips.

1. You can buy kosher coarse salt at most grocery stores.
2. Follow the recipe closely and in the order that the steps are given.
3. If you want to freeze them after baking, cut the baking time down by 2-3 minutes. Let them completely cool, then wrap for freezing. To reheat them from the freezer, microwave on 50% power for 1 minute.

Soft Pretzels Recipe

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 packages dry yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
7-8 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm water and yeast; stir until yeast is dissolved. Stir in the granulated sugar, salt, butter, egg and 3 cups of flour. Beat mixture at medium speed until all ingredients are combined and smooth. Add remaining flour and mix until dough is still. Place dough mixture in refrigerate for 4 hours.

Remove dough and divide in half. Return the other half back to refrigerator until you have the other half worked. Place dough on a lightly floured dough board and divide into 15 equal pieces, form each piece into a log shape that measures 18″ long. Shape into a pretzel form.

Place onto a greased cookie sheet or a baking sheet lined with a nonstick silicone baking mat. Brush each pretzel generously with egg white. Sprinkle each one with coarse salt. Let them sit on baking sheet to rise for 5 minutes. Place baking sheets into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown.

~ Shelly Hill ~

You can find additional FREE recipes over on my foodie & cooking blog called Shakin ‘N Bakin in the Kitchen with Shelly.

During the cold winter months, I spend a lot of time in my kitchen baking. One of the things I love to bake is a variety of homemade banana breads and this particular recipe is very easy to make. The banana bread comes out with a sweet taste that is super moist thanks to the addition of the pineapple.

Pineapple Banana Bread Recipe

3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. oil
2 c. bananas, mashed
8 oz. can of crushed pineapple
*optional* chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl, set aside. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until done.

Note: If you want them to come out nice and brown, try baking your bread in silicone bakeware.

If you have any family recipes that you would like to share with us & our readers, let us know :)

If your family is like mine…then they most likely love Guacamole with some Taco Chips for family snack time. However, it is much healthier for you to make it fresh & homemade yourself instead of purchasing it jarred at your local supermarket.

Making homemade Guacamole is fairly simple and takes less than 30 minutes to make. You will want to keep it refrigerated until you are ready to use it. This recipe makes about 1 1/4 cups of dip.

2 ripe avocados
1 red tomato, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

You will want to chop all of your vegetable ingredients and then mash them with a fork or mash them in a blender. Add the rest of the non-vegetable ingredients and stir until all ingredients are well blended together. Place Guacamole in a container and refrigerate it until ready to use.

This is a great Guacamole dip to use with Taco Chips…I like to make it for our family game or movie nights.